Frankly, what are we celebrating on this last day of 2012, while girding our loins to welcome 2013 with a resounding cheer, the fact that we have failed miserably in the quest to make our nation a safe haven for our womenfolk or the fact that our elected representatives have made a mockery of our due and valid concerns and laugh their heads off at our seemingly mindless antics of conducting candle light vigils and raising a hoarse hue and cry about justice that does not seem to have reached the ears of the people who really seem to matter........
Our elected representatives continue to mock our women some terming them as "highly dented and painted", some questioning the very need to provide them with mobile phones, while some other seemingly enlightened Netas blame women for bringing the heinous crime of rape unto themselves by wandering around on the streets after sunset and dressing in a manner that supposedly arouses the baser instincts in the hearts and minds of menfolk who prowl the streets at that inopportune time.........
One's eyes and heart is filled with unshed tears, profound sorrow and a growing sense of disenchantment and angst against a system that seems to be getting indifferent and callous to the plight of 50% of our population with every passing minute; are we celebrating the fact that seven rapes have been reported across various news channels and news papers between yesterday night and this morning......
Or then are we celebrating the fact that the men in khakhi who are supposed to protect and secure us are becoming increasingly predatory and go on around raping those brave women who venture into police stations to report the calamity that has befallen them, if you still do not understand what I mean then please do read this morning's Hyderabad edition of the Times of India that carries within it the harrowing and heart rending plight of a 24 year old married woman who was incarcerated and repeatedly raped by a constable attached to a police station in Vijaywada before fleeing and narrating her sorry tale to higher ups in the police department who were sufficiently moved to launch a manhunt for the alleged assailant after hearing her sorrowful plight.........
One has really begin to wonder whether there is indeed a silver lining to this dark cloud that seems to be getting darker with every passing minute, the conviction rate in all rape cases brought up before all relevant courts within the country stands at an appalling 16%, rapists are let off on the flimsiest pretexts like being in an inebriated condition while having committed the crime and therefore not in complete control of their senses or then on the pretext that their trial period exceeded the maximum period of their incarceration for the crime committed by them.........
And last but not the least, if the rapist is convicted by a court of law and accorded the death penalty for having committed a heinous crime that falls under the "rarest of rare" category, then their death sentence is commuted to a life sentence by a president who is opposed to the death sentence as a matter of principle and therefore her principles take precedence over the plight of some unfortunate women who have been subjected to this most inhuman of crimes..........
Or then are we celebrating the proud fact that global human rights watchdog Amnesty International has come to the conclusion that 81% OF ALL MARRIED INDIAN MEN RAPE THEIR WIVES EVERY NIGHT, OR THEN THE EVEN MORE GLARING FACT ALMOST 85% OF ALL FEMALE CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF 10 ARE EITHER RAPED BY A BLOOD RELATIVE OR THEN A PERSON WHO IS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR FAMILY......
We indeed have numerous reasons to celebrate, so do let's go around getting ourselves drunk, grope and molest women as our chances of getting convicted are almost one in one and a half crore, as for women do their feeble and increasingly isolated voices really matter; they are nothing more than our chattel and household articles and we exclusively reserve the right to denegrate and misuse them in any manner we deem fit as the Mahabharata and other such religious texts have bestowed this right unto us..........
Tarry for a moment and spare a thought for the grotesque and increasingly ugly plight of our womenfolk, spare a though for the very fact that the dismal plight that befell Nirbhaya, Amanat, Damini or whatever else you prefer to call the brave heart who succumbed to her grievous injuries after a titanic thirteen day struggle could just have easily befallen your sister or female relatives; so let's stop fooling ourselves, conveniently brushing inconvenient facts under the carpet, look at ourselves long and hard in the mirror and rededicate ourselves to the noble cause of making 2013 the year of zero rapes as this would indeed be the most telling homage to the brave heart who rekindled our sleeping consciences and made us question our motives in the first place................
Our elected representatives continue to mock our women some terming them as "highly dented and painted", some questioning the very need to provide them with mobile phones, while some other seemingly enlightened Netas blame women for bringing the heinous crime of rape unto themselves by wandering around on the streets after sunset and dressing in a manner that supposedly arouses the baser instincts in the hearts and minds of menfolk who prowl the streets at that inopportune time.........
One's eyes and heart is filled with unshed tears, profound sorrow and a growing sense of disenchantment and angst against a system that seems to be getting indifferent and callous to the plight of 50% of our population with every passing minute; are we celebrating the fact that seven rapes have been reported across various news channels and news papers between yesterday night and this morning......
Or then are we celebrating the fact that the men in khakhi who are supposed to protect and secure us are becoming increasingly predatory and go on around raping those brave women who venture into police stations to report the calamity that has befallen them, if you still do not understand what I mean then please do read this morning's Hyderabad edition of the Times of India that carries within it the harrowing and heart rending plight of a 24 year old married woman who was incarcerated and repeatedly raped by a constable attached to a police station in Vijaywada before fleeing and narrating her sorry tale to higher ups in the police department who were sufficiently moved to launch a manhunt for the alleged assailant after hearing her sorrowful plight.........
One has really begin to wonder whether there is indeed a silver lining to this dark cloud that seems to be getting darker with every passing minute, the conviction rate in all rape cases brought up before all relevant courts within the country stands at an appalling 16%, rapists are let off on the flimsiest pretexts like being in an inebriated condition while having committed the crime and therefore not in complete control of their senses or then on the pretext that their trial period exceeded the maximum period of their incarceration for the crime committed by them.........
And last but not the least, if the rapist is convicted by a court of law and accorded the death penalty for having committed a heinous crime that falls under the "rarest of rare" category, then their death sentence is commuted to a life sentence by a president who is opposed to the death sentence as a matter of principle and therefore her principles take precedence over the plight of some unfortunate women who have been subjected to this most inhuman of crimes..........
Or then are we celebrating the proud fact that global human rights watchdog Amnesty International has come to the conclusion that 81% OF ALL MARRIED INDIAN MEN RAPE THEIR WIVES EVERY NIGHT, OR THEN THE EVEN MORE GLARING FACT ALMOST 85% OF ALL FEMALE CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF 10 ARE EITHER RAPED BY A BLOOD RELATIVE OR THEN A PERSON WHO IS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR FAMILY......
We indeed have numerous reasons to celebrate, so do let's go around getting ourselves drunk, grope and molest women as our chances of getting convicted are almost one in one and a half crore, as for women do their feeble and increasingly isolated voices really matter; they are nothing more than our chattel and household articles and we exclusively reserve the right to denegrate and misuse them in any manner we deem fit as the Mahabharata and other such religious texts have bestowed this right unto us..........
Tarry for a moment and spare a thought for the grotesque and increasingly ugly plight of our womenfolk, spare a though for the very fact that the dismal plight that befell Nirbhaya, Amanat, Damini or whatever else you prefer to call the brave heart who succumbed to her grievous injuries after a titanic thirteen day struggle could just have easily befallen your sister or female relatives; so let's stop fooling ourselves, conveniently brushing inconvenient facts under the carpet, look at ourselves long and hard in the mirror and rededicate ourselves to the noble cause of making 2013 the year of zero rapes as this would indeed be the most telling homage to the brave heart who rekindled our sleeping consciences and made us question our motives in the first place................
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